Saturday was the Cat Classic near Williamsport, PA. Previous years had a $500 purse for the win, pretty hefty for a local gig, but this year it was dropped to $300 for some reason. Either way, I was excited to get up do this race again. The race is held on a family owned farm/property with what I think are some of the best trails around. Soft, loamy, rocky trails with lots of steep climbing and over camber sections make for a sweet course. Toss in some overnight rain, four 7.5 mile laps, and some of the fastest guys on the east coast and you've got yourself a race. The super early, 9am start went off right on time and Kyle and I got out to an early lead. We rode pretty conservatively for the first 2 or 3 laps but kept putting solid chunks of time in the rest of the field. Lap 4 is when the racing really started between the two of us. Both of us getting tired as the race was nearing the 2.5 hour mark as we were just getting into our last lap, but I could tell the rocks were taking their toll on Hammy and he was starting to get a little sloppy through the heavier rock sections. (I have to give him props though, for not liking rocks a whole lot, he rode them very well for the first three laps) Going into the 4th lap I didn't want to attack him, rather just keep it as smooth as I could through the rougher parts and rail the rock gardens and put time on him there. It worked as I put about 2 minutes on him by the end of the race, finishing in just over 3 hours. Yeah, it was long...
After racing, collecting prize loot, and loitering for a few hours at a mall situated in the middle of nowhere, I got back to Ship just in time to clean everything and climb into bed to try and get a little rest before the first fiddy miler across the street at Michaux, the forest of destruction, where damage is inevitable. Whether its you or your machine, something will break by the end of the day. I woke up feeling surprisingly fresh and well rested (not really), skidded up to the start and took off on what would be a very uncomfortable 5 hours on the bike. The legs came and went in small 15 minutes bits but overall I wasn't feeling too into it. I suffered in for a sixth place finish which I guess into too bad for the circumstances. One spot off the podium, which continues the tradition of '07.
The Scott handled all the rocks of both events like a dream. Everthing is dialed in on it and I couldn't be happier with it. I'm loving it more and more ever time I sit on it. Cyclingnews just put out a review of the new Addict R1, check it out.
This weekend is Frech Crick, the home course, and I'm looking to tear some legs off.
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